The
Statue of Liberty began lighting the way for new arrivals at a time
when many native-born Americans began to worry that the country was
admitting too many immigrants. Some citizens feared that their culture
was being threatened or that they would lose jobs to newcomers willing
to accept low wages.

In
1924 Congress passed the Johnson-Reed Immigration Act. For the first
time, the United States set limits on how many people from each country
it would admit. The number of people allowed to emigrate from a given
country each year was based on the number of people from that country
already living in the United States. As a result, immigration patterns
over the next 40 years reflected the existing immigrant population,
mostly Europeans and North Americans. Prior to 1924, U.S. laws specifically
excluded Asian immigrants. People in the American West feared that the
Chinese and other Asians would take away jobs, and racial prejudice
against people with Asian features was widespread. The law that kept
out Chinese immigrants was repealed in 1943, and legislation passed
in 1952 allows people of all races to become U.S. citizens.

Today
Asian Americans are one of the fastest-growing ethnic groups in the
country. About 15 million people of Asian descent live in the United
States. Although most of them have arrived here recently, they are among
the most successful of all immigrant groups. They have a higher income
than many other ethnic groups, and large numbers of their children study
at the best American universities.

U.S.
Secretary of Labor
Elaine Chao in San Francisco's
Chinatown

Chinese
Largest Asian Group in the United States
Chinese comprised more than 20 percent of the 11.9 million people who
identified themselves as Asians in Census 2000, according to a report
released March 4, 2002 by the U.S. Commerce Department's Census Bureau.
That translates into 2.7 million reporting as Chinese -- the largest
Asian group in the United States. "The Asian Population: 2000," one
in a series of Census 2000 briefs, also showed that about 50 percent
of the Asians resided in three states: California, New York and Hawaii.
Two of these states had Asian populations exceeding 1 million: California
(4.2 million) and New York (1.2 million). Census
Bureau Press Release

From
Philosophy to Food, Asian Culture Inspires Americans
Asian cultural influences have lapped at the American shores ever since
the Chinese brought their herbal medicines and array of other plants
during the California Gold Rush in the mid-19th century. But it’s only
since the 1980s that Asia’s influence, along with Asian-American demographic
growth, began to take off on a massive scale, becoming respectable and
— indeed — desirable. The effect is that what once was considered ethnic
or even esoteric has spilled irrevocably into the mainstream, mixing
with mainstream habits and transforming the landscape. (America.gov.
May 13, 2009)

U.S.
Minority Population Continues to Grow.By David Minckler
Slightly more than one-third of the population of the United States
-- 34 percent -- claims 'minority' racial or ethnic heritage, a jump
of 11 percent from 2000. The
May 1, 2008 Census Bureau report, covering estimates for the year
2007, confirms that the U.S. population is becoming increasingly diverse.
Hispanics and Asians continue to be the two fastest-growing minorities.
There are 45.5 million Hispanics living in the United States, accounting
for 15 percent of the U.S. population. Blacks comprise the second-largest
minority group, with 40.7 million (13.5 percent), followed by Asians,
with 15.2 million (5 percent). (America.gov, May 14, 2008.)

DISCLAIMER
Any reference obtained from this server to a
specific commercial product, process, or service does not constitute
or imply an endorsement by the United States Government of the product,
process, or service, or its producer or provider. The views and opinions
expressed in any referenced document do not necessarily state or reflect
those of the United States Government.